Furniture foot



J. E. BALES FURNITURE FOOT Feb. 2, 1932.

Filed Jun'24. 1929 Patented 1 Feb. 2, 1932 uurrao STATE-S PATENT OFFICETAKES E. BAIQES, E AURORA, ILLINOIS, AS SIGNOR TO LYON METAL PRODUCTS,INCOR I I EORATED, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS IFURNITURE FOOT A Application filed June 24., wee. serial No. swam.

Thisinvention relates to a foot which is attached to articles offurniture, and it relates particularly to a rubber foot for chairs.

The objectof the invention is to provide a new and novel foot for chairsand the like, i which are provided with vtubular or other hollow legs.

"Another object is'to' provide a rubber foot for chairs which has aportion thereof ex- 39 tending up into the 1c of the chair, and whichhas means provided tin securely maintaining the foot in position.

A further object is to provide a rubber foot 'for hollow chair legs andthe like, which has 115 a knob or head which abuts the end of the lewhich has a portion integral with the kno extending into the leg, andwhich is provided with tlghtening means for compressing the foot so thatit will swell tightly inside of the at) hollow leg and hold the foot inplace to prevent it from being accidently removed or lost."

the inner end of the foot, and it has struck up portions thereon to holda nut and prevent it from turning during tightening of'the bolt.

The accompanying drawings illustrates'a selected embodiment of theinvention and the views therein are as follows:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a chair having the improved rubber footappliedto each leg thereof.

Fig. 2 is a detail view,-partly in section, showing the rubber 'footapplied to a tubular chair'leg.

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan View on the line 3-3 of Fig; 2.

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the nut holding washer.

' Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 59 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a top plan view thereof.

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates any type of chair to which theinvention may be adapted. The rear legs are pivoted to the front legsand stretchers 12 and 13 are connected to the front and rear legsrespectively. The chair has a back 14 and a hinged seat 15, so that itmay be folded up and stored away when not in use. l

The legs 11 are substantially tubular in cross section and each leg isprovided with a rubber foot 16 to prevent'marring the floor and toprevent the chair from sliding or creeping.

The'foot 16 is preferably made of soft rub ber, although it may be madefrom other soft yieldable material, if desired. The foot has a knob 17and a body portion 18 which tapers slightly toward its inner end. Theknob is larger in diameter than the body portion to" provide an annularshoulder 19 which will bear against the outer end of each leg. A hole 20is providedin the foot and extends through its entire length. This holeis enlarged in the knob at 21, as clearly shown in the drawings andparticularly in Fig. 6

thereof.

A washer 22 is embedded in theknob where the enlargement 21 begins, andprovides a bearing for a bolt 23. The bolt passes through the hole inthe foot with its head 24 hearing against the washer 22. A washer 25fits over the threaded end 26 of the bolt to form a bearing for the nut27.

The washer 25 is substantially as large in diameter as the inner end ofthe body portion, and it has a' plurality of lugs 28 struck up therefromwhich engage the nut 27 and prevent the nut from turning when the bolt23 is being tightened.

In practice the bolt 23 is arranged in the -hole19 with the bolt head24: bearing against the washer 22 and the threaded bolt end 26 extendedthrough the inner end of the body 1 portion. The washer 25 is thenarranged on the end of the bolt and the nut screwed on,

until it seats within the lugs 28. The parts tubular leg 11 until theouter end ofthele bears against the annular shoulder 19. screw driver orother implement is then arran ed in the slot 29 in the bolt head 24 andthe olt tightened. The lugs 28 prevent the nut from turning so when thebolt is turned the rubber between the washers 22 and 25 will becompressed and swell out against the inside of the leg and firmly securethe foot in position on the leg.

The invention provides a foot for chair legs and the like which issecurely maintained in position and which can be readily and quicklyassembled. The knob has its outer periphery flush with the outside ofthe leg and presents a finished and neat appearance. The foot is simplein construction, efiicient in use, and can be readily and ,economicallymanufactured.

Changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of theparts without departin from the spirit of the invention or sacri cingany of its advantages, and the right is hereby reserved to make all suchchanges as fairly fall within the scope of the following claim.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

A furniture foot consisting of the leg of a chair or the like, having acylindrical bore, a resilient cushion member having a cylindricalshank'fittin into said bore, the head at the outer end 0 the shank beingofgreater diameter than the shank proper, whereby it may abut the end ofthe chair leg, a washer abutting the inner end surface only of the shankof the resilient member and covering substantially the entire inner endsurface, a screw extending axially through the resilient member, and anut for the inner end of the screw, the washer having projections toprevent the nut from rotating when the screw is rotated, and the washermaking inner end surface contact only with the shank portion of theresilient member,'whereby when the screw is tightened, the shank portionis compressed longitudinally, whereby the shank expands within the legsubstantially uniformly throughout its length, the outer end of theresilient member bemg countersunk to accommodate the head at the outerend of the screw.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto sub scribed my name.

. JAMES E. BALES.

